At the 112th Annual General
meeting of the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI)
held at 4.30 p.m. on 29th August, 2022, at the MAC Hall, SICCI, Mr. Ar
Rm Arun was unanimously re-elected as President of the Chamber for a 3rd
term, Chairman of Valingro Group and Honorary Consul of the Czech
Republic in Chennai
Speaking on the occasion Mr. Ar Rm Arun said, "SICCI welcomes the
ambitious target Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Thiru. M. K. Stalin set for
our State to become a $1T economy by 2030. 19 countries are $1T & above.
To achieve $1T we need to surpass Switzerland which is at $842B & others
like Belgium, Norway, Taiwan, Poland, etc. Currently we are at par with
the Czech Republic & Romania, ahead of New Zealand & Portugal." He
further said that the State required 13%-13.5% nominal growth to achieve
this goal. During last year we had achieved 14.5%. For next 2 years
growth projected was 14%.
Mr. Ar Rm Arun spoke about the challenges in becoming a 1$ Trillion
Economy. First, most states do not have economic management capabilities
or experience to deal with such huge realities. Secondly, there was a
pressing need to satisfy demands of citizens who have moved up the
income ladder. These levels of average incomes would put the State at
around where China was today. Thirdly, the rise of high value State
economies would also expectedly change the federal system dynamics. He
further added that Tamil Nadu stood well poised to overcome the above
mentioned challenges with sound fundamental fiscal management, competent
policy making, high in competition & ease of doing business with all
basic raw materials to draw max investments. Tamil Nadu also had the
history of social empowerment which would ensure that tide would lift
all boats.
Mr. Arun said that SICCI was working closely with the Government of
Tamil Nadu in setting up the Electric Vehicles - Centre of Excellence in
Chennai as well as the SpaceTech Centre in Gangaikondan in Tirunelveli.
He also spoke about the successful Business Delegation to Thailand with
40 members which was the biggest in the history of the Chamber. The
Delegation had Meetings with Ministries, Chambers of Commerce, Tamil
Sangam, and importantly visits to 2 major Global Expos. SICCI was now
planning the next Delegation to the Czech Republic during the first week
of October 2022 with the participation of Government of Tamil Nadu
Minister & Secretary leading the Delegation.
Speaking about the future plans of SICCI, Mr. Ar Rm Arun said, "In
addition to the focus on Robustness and Vibrancy during the last year we
have taken on focus on Growth. On an average we have been conducting 9
events of value each month. We have also kick-started new Committees
including Women in Industry, Energy, Electric Vehicles, Insurance,etc
there by growing from 20 committees to 29 committees. We have been
highly active in our engagement with the Governments in State & Centre
with one to one meetings with Ministers & Bureaucrats. We have actively
started process of visioning our progress for the next 100 years. We
plan to continue the quarterly outreach of taking Delegations to global
destinations – not only will this open out new Investments into our
region, but importantly also open new markets for our companies."
Thiru. T. Mano Thangaraj, Hon’ble Minister for Information Technology,
Government of Tamil Nadu spoke on the occasion and said that the
Industry and Government Departments are working closely as never before.
The ideas and recommendations given by Industry has gone a long way in
helping the Government function more effectively. He also announced that
ELCOT was working with SICCI’s Aerospace & Defence Committee under the
Chair of Dr. Mylswamy Annadurai to set up a Drone Training Centre in
Gangaikondan in Tirunelveli. He further said that owing to the visionary
leadership of the Hon’ble Chief Minister Thiru. M. K. Stalin, excellent
Infrastructure, ease of doing business and openness of the Government,
investors are consistently choosing Tamil Nadu. He also said that the IT
Department was working with Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists to
nurture and grow the Startups across the State. The Tamil Nadu
Government was also successfully showcasing the State in international
forums. All these initiatives would surely help the State fulfill the $1
Trillion Economy vision of the Hon’ble CM.
Thiru. Mano Thangaraj also presented Awards to meritorious Students from
various leading Universities. Mr. Masayuki Taga, Consul General of Japan
in Chennai was Guest of Honour and spoke on the occasion. Mr. Nitirooge
Phoneprasert, Consul General of Thailand in Chennai was recognized for
his efforts in promoting Tamil Nadu & Thailand trade. Dr. C. N.
Gangadaran, Past-President, SICCI was also honoured for 50 years of
service to the Chartered Accountancy Profession.
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